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78R1148 BDH-F

By:  Dutton                                                       H.B. No. 366



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the punishment for a capital offense.                             
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.   Section 508.046, Government Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
	Sec. 508.046.  EXTRAORDINARY VOTE REQUIRED.  To release on 
parole an inmate who was convicted of [a capital felony or] an 
offense under Section 21.11(a)(1) or 22.021, Penal Code, or who is 
required under Section 508.145(c) to serve 35 calendar years before 
becoming eligible for release on parole, all members of the board 
must vote on the release on parole of the inmate, and at least 
two-thirds of the members must vote in favor of the release on 
parole. A member of the board may not vote on the release unless the 
member first receives a copy of a written report from the department 
on the probability that the inmate would commit an offense after 
being released on parole.
	SECTION 2.   Section 508.145(b), Government Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
	(b)  An inmate serving a life sentence for a capital felony 
is not eligible for release on parole [until the actual calendar 
time the inmate has served, without consideration of good conduct 
time, equals 40 calendar years].
	SECTION 3.   Section 2(e), Article 37.071, Code of Criminal 
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
	(e)(1)  The court shall instruct the jury that if the jury 
returns an affirmative finding to each issue submitted under 
Subsection (b) of this article, it shall answer the following 
issue:
	Whether, taking into consideration all of the evidence, 
including the circumstances of the offense, the defendant's 
character and background, and the personal moral culpability of the 
defendant, there is a sufficient mitigating circumstance or 
circumstances to warrant that a sentence of life imprisonment 
rather than a death sentence be imposed.
		(2)  The court, on the written request of the attorney 
representing the defendant, shall:
			(A)  instruct the jury that if the jury answers 
that a circumstance or circumstances warrant that a sentence of 
life imprisonment rather than a death sentence be imposed, the 
court will sentence the defendant to imprisonment in the 
institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 
for life; and
			(B)  charge the jury in writing as follows:                                  
	"Under the law applicable in this case, if the defendant is 
sentenced to imprisonment in the institutional division of the 
Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life, the defendant will 
not become eligible for release on parole or mandatory supervision
[, but not until the actual time served by the defendant equals 40 
years, without consideration of any good conduct time.  It cannot 
accurately be predicted how the parole laws might be applied to this 
defendant if the defendant is sentenced to a term of imprisonment 
for life because the application of those laws will depend on 
decisions made by prison and parole authorities, but eligibility 
for parole does not guarantee that parole will be granted]."
	SECTION 4.   (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies 
only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this 
Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before 
the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs 
before the effective date.
	(b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this 
Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, 
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 5.   This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.